Monday, 22 May 2017

How to prepare for your CIMA OT exams with our handy guide!

Are
you preparing for your CIMA OT exam? It can be easy to feel overwhelmed,
with so many different topics and possible questions! If you are
feeling like you are not sure which route to take, have no fear. I
was speaking to an examiner the other day and they told me about a
route through the exam that will navigate you towards success!

The
FIRST step you should take in your CIMA OT exam: Skim read through all of
the questions. This
step should only take you around 10 - 15 minutes. The key is to give
each question a brief scan, which will give yourself an
idea of each question type and its topic. If you can answer one of
the shorter questions off the bat, we would definitely recommend
doing so! By the end of this first scan, you will probably have
answered around 10 to 15 questions with ease - not a bad start! I
have spoken to a number of students who have tried this technique and
it really works wonders for their confidence. Knowing that you can
answer some of the questions so easily will definitely help you to
feel calmer. The
second step: Revisit your unanswered questions. This
is easy to do - simply click on 'Review incomplete items' in the
review screen to see all of the questions that you now need to focus
on. There is a particular type of question here that you need to look
for: slightly longer questions that you feel confident answering. It
depends on the topic that the questions are focused on, but this
technique could get you up to 30 questions answered! Don't forget
to keep an eye on the time, however, as there are still more
questions to be answered!The
third step: Take on the tricky questions!One
of the final steps is something that my students often find the most
difficult - answering the questions that they find the most
difficult. These questions often involve complex data and
consideration of approach. Other questions may be very short, but you
are simply unsure of the answer! The key here is to not panic - you
are halfway there. Make sure you do not lose any precious time by
giving yourself around 3 minutes for each question - and be strict on
this! Reached the end of this time and still not sure? One of my
students recommended a great approach - 'Flag' up the question and
come back to it after you have answered all of the other questions. The
fourth (and last) step.

By
this time, you should be around 85 minutes into the exam. Once you
reach this time, a window will pop up and inform you that there are
five minutes to go. Use this time wisely - it will go much quicker
than you think. Go back to any questions that you have flagged up and
try to answer them as best as you can. Remember - any that have not
been completed at all will get NO marks, so if in serious doubt,
trying going with your instinct or which answer may seem the most
logical. You can find all the materials you need for your OT test on our Astranti website, including our full courses available here: http://www.astranti.com/cima/strategic/courses/ot.html